RESUMO
To assess the usefulness of random capillary plasma glucose (RCPG) measurement in screening for diabetes mellitus in high-risk subjects, a RCPG measurement and a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) were performed in 684 women and 164 men, aged 16-76 years (mean+/-SD: 41.9+/-11.3 years). Risk factors included family history of diabetes in first degree relatives (53.8%), obesity (BMI > or =27 kg/m(2)) in 37.9%, dyslipidemia (78.4%), hypertension, i.e. BP > or =140/90 mmHg (28.5%), and history of gestational diabetes mellitus (16.6%). According to the 1997 ADA/1998 WHO Consultation criteria for a full OGTT, 118 cases (13.9%) were found to have diabetes. Each of 19 cases with RCPG > or =13.3 mmol/l had diabetes according to OGTT, 4.7% of 427 cases with RCPG<6.1 mmol/l had diabetes. Among 402 subjects with RCPG between 6.1 and <13.3 mmol/l, 19.7% were found to have diabetes. Thus, 446 (52.6%) of 848 subjects would have been saved from OGTT if RCPG was used as a screening test, in comparison to 33.1% if the cutpoints for RCPG (12.2 and 5.5 mmol/l) recommended by WHO Study Group (1985)/WHO Consultation (1998) were applied. Therefore, RCPG measurement is a useful screening test for the screening of diabetes mellitus in high-risk subjects.
